Vehicle buffer device



Dec. 17, 1929. LYON 1,739,849

VEHICLE BUFFER DEVICE Fil d Ju y 2. 192a .57 l I I I 'HHH'HHIIH l 6/ 59H! L I kil INVEgTOR 7 M ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 17, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE" GEORGE ALBERT LYON, or PHILADELPHIA, rENNs LvANIa, assrenoaymrMEsNE ASSIGNMENTS, To AMERICAN CHAIN COMPANY, me, A CORPORATION on EW YORK VEHICLE BUFFER DEVICE Application filed'J'uly 12,1923. Serial No. 651,038.

This invention relates to bufier or bumper devices for automobiles in which the buffer front strips are formed with bent'or folded endconnector portions adapted to be directly bolted to each other at the ends of the buffer front and also to be simultaneously bolted in some cases to the ends of the buffer support. ing members or strips; or, if desired, these connector portions may be curved or bent at their ends so as to be brought into edge engagement with each otherand then bolted or clamped to a-separate connector plate, casting or block, which may be interposed between their adjacent portions for this purpose.

In the accompanying drawing showing in a somewhat diagrammatic'way a number of illustrative embodiments of this invention- Fig. l is a front View of an'illustrative buffer.

Fig. 2 is a plan View thereof.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail perspective view showing the end connection used in this buffer.

. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail showing an- 5 other form of end connection, and

Fig. 5 is a side sectional'view thereof.

.Fig. 6 is a rear view of another form of illustrative buffer.

Fig. 7 is a top view thereof.

In the illustrative form of buffer shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 8 the buffer front may, if de' sired, be formed of two strips of tempered spring-steel of about one and one-half to two and a half inches wide and a quarter to three eighths of an inchhthick, more or less, which maybe arranged in vertically'spaced position with their adj acent edges one to three inches apart or so and connected at several points along the buffer front by suitable clamps or 40 connecting devices 30, which'may also serve to connect to these front strips 'or members the ends 19, 24 of-v the buffer supporting .or .1 attaching member or strip.' This attaching member may have a laterally extending or brace bar portion 21. spaced, considerably to j the rear of the buffer front as shown in ig. 2 and having at each end the resilient bent portions 20, 22, so as to yieldingly support the inturned'connecting ends 19, 24 which may be apertured to receive the connecting bolts 17 of the clamping members 30. In this way the connecting ends 19, 24 may be brought into direct engagement with both the buffer front strips 25, 26, if desired, so as to directly support'them and hold them in substantial vertical'alignment. Theouter ends of these buffer front strips may be rearwardly bent or folded as shown inFig; 2 and may have specially shaped bent connector portions 7 9 which may be rearwardly bent and also bent toward each other so that their meeting edges 79 may be'brought into substantial alignment with each other as shown in Fig. 3 to form a neat finish at this-pointof the buffer. These end connector portions of the strips may be clamped or'connec'ted in any suitable way' and it is convenient to bolt these parts of the strips to a separate connector plate or member such J as 41 which may be stampedinto shape'to, fit

' within the ends of these cooperating strips where it may be securely and removably fastened as by'the round headed bolts 40 extending through the strip ends and the nuts 42 screwed against the connector plate'to the rear.

Fig. 4 shows another form of desirable connection for such buffer front strips by which the two cooperating front strips 48, 44 may be securely connected invertically separated vertically aligned position,'if desired. For this purpose diagonal folds or bends along the lines 47 49 maybe madein these strips so that the end connector portions 34 are formed integral with the two front strips which are then bent forward into parallel position to form the laterally extending contact portions 45, 46"whic'h' mayfbe securely bolted together by one or more. boltsisuch'as 47 passing through holes in'these strips and tightly holdingthem together as by the' nuts 48 under which look washers may be provided, if desired. If desired in some cases a suitable buffer supporting member may have its ends clamped or bolted to these cooperating connector portions 34 and as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, such a supporting member 31 may be formed with rounded ends 32 preferably arranged closely behind or in front of these connector portions 34 and secured thereto as by the bolts 33. Of course this supporting member may have 'its end's curved or stamped out to fit the connector portions where desired and is preferably bifurcated at its ends where it .is arranged inside the connector portions so to pass o'n opposite sidesbf "the contact'portions 45,46.

Figs. 6 and 7 show still another construction in which integral connector portions may be formed on the stripends to bed-irect-ly bolted or clamped together and to be securely connected to the ends of an attaching or'su-p' porting member of the buffer, if desired. In this case each of the front strips maybe of similar form so as to be bent up in dies in quantity. The front strip 50, for instance, may have the angularl-yfolded or bent portions 52, 53 at its opposite ends, this oblique or angular fold or bend taking place along the lines 57. The other strip 15-1 may be formed. with similar rearwardly and upwardly bent or folded connector portions 52', 53, one of which, 54, is adapted to go behind the cooperating strip end of the other buffer front element which has at its opposite end the rearward strip end 54 so that these two buffer front elements may be made identical in length and shape and have their ends nested together in this way. These end connecto'r portions may be formed with one or ,more bolt holes or may otherwise be bolted or clamped together; and in many cases it is advantageous to simultaneously clamp or bolt thereto the buffer supporting or attaching members. such as the ends '60 of the lat erally extending attaching member 61 shown in Fig. 7'." r

This invention has been described in connection with a number of embodii'nents, forms, proportions, parts, arrangements, materials, methods of connection and use, to the details of which disclosure the invention is not of course to be limited, since what is claimed asi new and what is desired to be securedby Letters Patent is set forth'in the appended claims;

I claim: 7 1. The automobilepbuilt'er front comprising a pair of Vertically aligned vertically spaced tran'sversely'iextending buffer front members formedqof Wide tempered spr-ing steel strip and each having at each end an integral di-- agenally. folded :con'znectorportion extending rearward said,v 'connector portions having laterally and forwardly extending contact ortra tsamen with tan holes", tamaring bolts clamping said contact portions of the front members together at each end of the buffer front, and a steel strip sup:v

porting member having its ends secured to said connector portions.

2. The automobile buffer front comprising a pair of vertically aligned vertically spaced transversely extending buffer front members formed of wide steel strip and each having at each end an integral connector portion extending rearward said connector portions having laterally and forwardly extending contact portions connected together at each end e e e fr t. an st el s ip s pporting member having its ends secured to said connector portions.

3. The automobile buffer front comprisin two vertically aligned vertically space transversely extending buffer front members vformed of wide steel strip and each having l at each end an integral obliquely folded rearwardly bent connector portion and adjacent connected forwardly extending contact poritions and buffer supporting members secured to said connector portions.

4. The automobile buffer front comprising twosep'aratel-y formed vertically spaced transversely extending buffer front members formed of vertically wide steel strip and each having at each end anintegral obliquely folded rearwardly extending connector portion, said portions having "cooperating pjortions presenting oppositely bevelled rf'ounde'd' loop ends and means connecting said connector portions of the front members together at each end of the buffer front, and means to adapt said buffer front to be supported from the automobile frame.

5. The automobile buffer front comprising separately formed vertically spaced transversely extending b-ufif'er front members of wide steel strip having at each end cooperating rearwardly bent connector port1on 'sbe-= each of its ends to said bufier frontand adapt;

ed to be attaehed'to the automobile trans ts support said buffer. p p

7. 'An' automobile buffer eempri-sing a rality of wide thin separately formed ient metal strip portions co'nstituting an in; pact element, said strips being arranged in vertical relation to each other and each strip havingfan integral and connector portion at the lateral end of the element folded angularly to bring the extremities of said folded portions of said connector portions into proximity, said connector portions at the adjacent latera'l'fends of said strips forming oppositely bevelled rounded loop ends connected to each other to hold said strips in spaced vertical relation.

GEORGE ALBERT LYON. 

